Uncovering Easter Treasures

I am a highly trained, exceptionally effective and resourceful… Easter egg hunter.  From a very young age I was exposed to the most severe and brutal egg hunting conditions imaginable.  My seeking skills were tested both in quantity and degree of difficulty honing my natural instincts well beyond that of any mortal egg hunter.  Our “house Easter bunny” regularly hid 6 dozen of the most finely festooned chicken seeds in all manner of unfathomable locations… rarely were they completely recovered.  Grandma’s Easter bunny was much more organized, yet no less barbaric in his methods of concealment.  We never could quite figure how Grandma got the bunny to offer a written list of where his eggs were hidden and still many were never seen again.  Luckily the bunny at Grandma Frost’s house only left baskets or we would have been turning furniture, tossing drawers and unpotting houseplants all day looking for those coveted tinted treasures.  (Yes, eggs were hidden in the bottom of flower pots so this activity doubled as houseplant repotting training as well).   

As an adult, it seems merely a coincidence that the Easter bunny in my home became equally torturous in his efforts but (with hindsight) I could completely appreciate the benefits of this rigorous training at a young age.   

All these focused lessons and preparations have me well suited to searching within my adult world.  Whenever I golf I always come home with more golf balls than I began with.  I can spot the most hidden roadside wildlife at 55 MPH, I never lose my keys and am always finding spare change on the ground.  Seeking skills are highly advantageous no matter what stage of life you may be in. 

The fact is that if you can train yourself to consistently be on the hunt for positive outcomes you are much more likely to be rewarded with remarkable life experiences.  Just recently I hosted a group of horticulture students for a tour and was thrilled to find inspiration in their enthusiasm for my industry and discovered hope in these future leaders.  I recently went on a vacation with a group of colleagues only to find that they had become treasured friends.  I find more and more how blessed I am with community, family and health proving how much treasure I have that has been too often unrealized due to spending too much time hunting in the wrong place or searching for the wrong things.     

Over the years what is most important to me has certainly had to adapt to my ever- shifting reality… the objective of my search has changed in many ways.  I would like to think that, with time, my goals and purpose has become more enlightened with the benefit of life’s experience.   

One thing that will never change is that we all choose our attitude and if we look for a glass half full we are much less likely to be caught with one half empty. I am doubtful that many have been subjected to the rigorous training that I have benefitted from but I know we can all gain from searching for the positive side of every situation, hunt for opportunities to offer treasures in the lives of others and seek to leave this place better than the manner in with which we found it.   

Now go outside and have fun in the dirt!